How far up the chain is worth it in a compromised room?

[racrawford65]

Thanks, N Boros

I agree that you don't need to go overboard on Atmos speakers. I'm currently using HTM200's high mounted on front & rear walls for Atmos. It works pretty good although have been toying with idea of in-ceilings although my ceilings are tiered.

[N Boros]

Thanks, N Boros

I agree that you don't need to go overboard on Atmos speakers. I'm currently using HTM200's high mounted on front & rear walls for Atmos. It works pretty good although have been toying with idea of in-ceilings although my ceilings are tiered.

I think getting them overhead and aimed down can likely made a big difference. In your case, since you have the speakers you might be able to test it out with your HTM 200s to see. If you can temporarily attach speakers in the proper locations facing down so that you can listen for yourself to a couple of good Atmos soundtracks. Yes there might be a couple of holes for each speaker to repair, but those small holes are easier to fix than if you have large holes that you cut out for in-ceiling speakers, if you don’t find it is noticeably better. Plus, if you do like the way the HTM 200s sound, overhead facing down, then you would likely cut out where the two small screws held them anyways, when you permanently replace them with in-ceiling speakers.

This sounds like a pain to try to do. Maybe if you have a couple of ladders and can borrow a couple of others from some of your neighbors, that can work too. Just trying to see if there is a noticeable difference in the better placement.

[racrawford65]

I do have them angled down at the moment.

I have a few ladders that I could use to try, depending if there's enough room on the ceiling to place them better. That said, I could always mount the HTM's to the ceiling if it works better. I don't think my wife would complain (too much :-) ). Another issue is distance from rear to seat as I may not get the proper angle.

[N Boros]

I do have them angled down at the moment.

I have a few ladders that I could use to try, depending if there's enough room on the ceiling to place them better. That said, I could always mount the HTM's to the ceiling if it works better. I don't think my wife would complain (too much :-) ). Another issue is distance from rear to seat as I may not get the proper angle.

I havenÂ’t A/Bed a setup like you have with overhead speakers placed according to Dolby guidelines. However, anecdotally many people that do have them placed high up front and and high in the back angled down have said that they didnÂ’t get much overhead effect from the sounds that are supposed to be overhead. Most of what is mixed is done with 4 overhead speakers angled down though, so it is nice if speakers in your room replicate that, for the most accurate possible presentation. Definitely try rigging them up on ladders and such listening for a couple days to see if you think it sounds better though. I donÂ’t want you to go through all the trouble involved in mounting speakers on or in the ceiling only to find they donÂ’t sound that much different. My gut is telling me that they have to though, just because of the angle of the speakers versus the angle where the sounds should be coming from.

If you and your wife are fine with HTM 200s mounted to the ceiling and aimed down, then those likely will be as good if not better than in-ceiling speakers, since it sounds like your ceiling height is at least 8 or 9 feet high. I couldnÂ’t do that since I am in a basement with only 7 ft ceilings. The HTM 200s likely have better components than the Sonance speakers, due to AscendÂ’s unusually low profit margins. Here is a thread where a guy made the HTMs mounted as in-ceiling speakers look nice. I think you might have already seen it though, since you posted in the thread.

https://forum.ascendacoustics.com/sh...s-w-HTM-200-SE

[racrawford65]

Thanks, N Boros.

Yes, my ceiling is tiered (3 tiers). I think it starts at 9 (or 10) feet, then a foot for each additional tier. Luckily it's a one-story so easy access.

Appreciate you posting the link to the htm mounting thread - saves me from searching for it should I try them out on-ceiling. One of these days when I have some time.

Best
Robert

[N Boros]

Thanks, N Boros.

Yes, my ceiling is tiered (3 tiers). I think it starts at 9 (or 10) feet, then a foot for each additional tier. Luckily it's a one-story so easy access.

Appreciate you posting the link to the htm mounting thread - saves me from searching for it should I try them out on-ceiling. One of these days when I have some time.

Best
Robert

Happy to help. In the link I shared, someone installed them as in wall speakers. I was imply providing this an example where it can be made to look good, however I don’t know if I would install them like that as they weren’t designed to be in wall speakers as far as the ceiling now acting like part of the front baffle. Not sure how much they would need to protrude from the ceiling so that this is no longer an issue. Dave can surely tell you if you go that route. If you get time to try it please post what you find. I’m interested to see if you find one better than the other.

[racrawford65]

If I do try them on ceiling, I'd not flush mount (don't want to cut big holes in the ceiling). I'd either use my current mounts or possibly long bolts into the ceiling and existing inserts (and possibly an additional on the opposite side). I recall a post where someone did the latter. I think they'd hold in my ceiling as there is already plywood for the framing.

It would definitely be a project for when the wife was out for a day or so.

[natetg57]

When I had an Atmos setup, I covered my HTM-200s with white vinyl and redid the grills with white cloth. Made them blend in to the white ceiling much better.

[racrawford65]

Thanks for the suggestion, natetg57. I had thought about that (or painting the cabinets, although that may not be possible). The other idea is to paint the ceiling black - at least the tiered parts that are higher than the rest of the house (open floor plan).

[zeeke42]

Just to update; I scored a great deal on a lightly used set of Sierra LX on ebay. Before I even plugged them in, I was blown away by the quality of the cabinets. If you told me they were a solid block of wood, I would probably believe you. I haven't had time to reconfigure the living room, so I just put them on my desk for an initial listening test. My SMSL SA-36 class D amp appears to have died, so I bodged a pile of adapters together to run them from my DIY AMB M^3 headphone amp. The amp has a discrete mosfet output stage capable of ~2.5W RMS into 8 ohms, more than enough for moderate levels near field.

The sound quality is excellent. I'm blown away by the amount and clarity of bass from a bookshelf speaker with a tiny amp. I definitely don't see any need for a sub for music listening. I found myself stopping to listen for fine details in the music in a way I often do with headphones, but rarely with speakers. I can't wait to try them in the big room and feed them some more power. I'm going to try both with my existing center and phantom center for now. A 3rd LX for center duty is probably my next upgrade.

Thanks everyone for the help.